Social Security: How Palestinians Survive a Humanitarian Crisis
Author(s)
Allen, Lori A.
Abstract
Palestinians know they are being watched–it is hard to escape, given the ubiquity of TV news cameras at every clash point, demonstration, or funeral. Children’s immediate reaction to any camera, news or otherwise, is to raise their V-for victory fingers high in the air, grinning widely, less out of defiance than the look-at-me-I’m-on-TV excitement typical of rowdy youngsters anywhere in the world. The relationship to the camera is not always as naive as that, though. Funerals for Palestinian martyrs have been delayed as the crowds wait for journalists stuck at Israeli checkpoints to make their way to the farther reaches of the West Bank. Local civil rights are sacrificed for (the leaders’ perception of) the greater national good. On the other hand, journalists are apparently aware of their power and the precious commodity they produce. And though they have a very distinct view of how the international media presents “the Israeli side,” Israelis are also not ignorant of the power of the press and its role in the conflict’s dynamic.
